CATEGORY COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Natural Sciences mathematics courses appear to effectively and rigorously provide the expected instruction in mathematics skills. As noted above however, the courses are cross-listed as both Basic Skills courses (Category A-3) and Natural Sciences Breadth Area courses (B-1), and for the latter are supposed to satisfy both the basic skills criteria and Natural Sciences criterion “1-b”, “To explore the philosophical presuppositions and examine the social and historical context of scientific developments within the natural sciences.” The courses herein reviewed do not generally appear to satisfy criterion “1-b”. The review further showed that for the most part, course syllabi do not state objectives which will tell students the specific learning outcomes that the courses can be expected to impart.

Following from the preceding observations, the Committee recommends that:

(a) The department identify and attempt to institute changes which will help satisfy criterion “1-b,” for example, assign a reading or readings that will familiarize students with philosophical presuppositions and social and historical context of scientific developments within the natural sciences (the department should consult with the AY1996-97 Natural Sciences Committee representative for guidance);

(b) Courses state objectives in their syllabi which will clearly inform students of the learning outcomes they can expect to derive from a course (see Recommendation No. 2, p. 13).

CATEGORY B-2. LIFE SCIENCES

Life sciences courses shall emphasize a knowledge of the life forms in nature, the rules governing their ecology, the experimental basis for current knowledge and future exploration in the life sciences area, and the impact of scientific and technological developments in the biosphere. Four options are available:

BIOL 100, TOPICS IN BIOLOGY: This is an introductory course designed to provide a broad understanding of what biology is and how it impacts our daily lives. According to the questionnaire, the course requires no previous biology or chemistry background and the lecture text and the laboratory manual are chosen at an appropriate level. Both lecture and laboratory devote time for students to understand and use scientific method to obtain, evaluate, and interpret information from their own experiments. The lecture describes how scientific methods allow us to make discoveries and how these discoveries leads to further scientific discoveries. The lecture and laboratory emphasize the diversity of life at several levels of organization from cellular to ecosystem. In the laboratory, students learn to use microscopes to prepare slides, use equipment for quantitative measurements, perform experiments and analyses on molecules, cells, tissues, and organisms of both plants and animals. Students gain an understanding of the relationships of organisms and humans within the environment. According to the questionnaire, the basic general education skills in computational, written, and oral communications are reinforced. Oral communication exercises are limited due to a large lecture format but are adequately covered in the laboratory. The syllabus did not state course objectives. Additionally, the syllabus did not state office hours, which should be included. From the materials submitted, the Committee believes that this course satisfies category requirements, and recommends that it be recertified as a G.E. course.